


The Counsel of the Years

by Amrywiol



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: F/M, alphabet fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:40:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27126658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amrywiol/pseuds/Amrywiol
Summary: A while back, I had an idea to write an alphabet fic (I know, I'm not the first - a special shoutout goes to Morganatique9 and Almightymirage who are currently knocking their own collections out of the park), but as a hopefully novel twist I've decided to use the Hebrew alphabet, something which has always fascinated me with it's status as one of the oldest alphabets still in use today. The more I looked at it with this in mind, the more it seemed to fit as a vehicle for providing insights into Jeff and Annie's life together throughout the years.I've got no set schedule for updating it, but will do so as inspiration strikes.(The title is a line from Desiderata by Max Ehrmann BTW)
Relationships: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger
Comments: 78
Kudos: 64





	1. Aleph (Ox)

Annie’s hand shot out to the side and grabbed Jeff’s wrist just as he was about to mash the car horn.

“Don’t even think about it Jeff,” she warned. “They’ll panic and stampede and then anything could happen.”

“But Annie! If they- ” Jeff waved in frustration at the herd of cattle that were blocking the road “- don’t move out of the way, we could be stuck here for hours! In a car, with a nine month old child who _will_ start screaming if we don’t reach the holiday cabin before sunset!”

Annie looked into the back seat and smiled fondly at baby Jessica, who seemed to be focussed on trying to eat her own feet. Annie reached back to tickle the feet in question and was rewarded with a musical giggle.

“We’ll stop here,” She announced firmly. “The cows are on the road, so we’ll hop over the fence into the field and have a picnic lunch. Hopefully by the time we’ve finished they’ll have moved on.”

Jeff looked at her, registered the ‘don’t argue with me’ expression on her face and sighed. “Yes Annie.” He said as he pulled the car over to the side of the road.

She beamed at him and hopped out of the car and ran round to the back of it, fetching the picnic basket. By the time she’d got it out and shut the trunk Jeff had already got out and fetched Jessica, and was holding her in the crook of his arm, tickling her belly and smiling at her gurgling laughter. Annie recognised the smile on his face as one that, before Jessica was born, only she ever saw but she smiled softly herself as she recognised it as something he now shared with both of the most important women in his life.

“Come on,” she said as she walked up to them, threw an arm around his waist and planted a soft kiss on Jessica’s forehead. “This lunch isn’t going to eat itself.”


	2. Bet (House)

The internship had been a blast, but the FBI had never been a realistic prospect for somebody with an unfinished Forensics degree from the worst community college in Colorado. He would tell everyone who would listen that it was a sign of how dysfunctional the federal government was that it could turn down the opportunity to have her working for them, but she had still had to come back home to finish her degree. He met her at the airport on her return, and, apart from a couple of arguments followed by reconciliations, they had been together ever since.

The state of Colorado had proven wiser, and an apprenticeship with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation after she graduated had turned into a job offer, which had turned into a promotion, which had enabled them to make some choices.

“So, what do you think?” She said quietly.

“It’s about halfway between your job and mine,” he said. “And your promotion brings it within our price range.”

“It’s a low crime area,” she added quietly - her job gave her access to more detailed statistics than were publicly available.

“It’s in good condition and only really needs decorating,'' he added.

“And the second bedroom can easily be turned into a nursery,” she looked down fondly at her bump, which was only just beginning to show.

He put an arm around her shoulder. “We’re really going to do this, aren’t we?” He whispered. “We’re going to have a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence and a yard big enough for a kid and a dog to play in.”

She smiled at him. “I’m still not sure about the dog.”

“Dogs are good for kids,” he said firmly, taking the opportunity to pat her belly fondly.

“Weekend barbecues,” he said, a note of wonder in his voice. “I’ll probably join a golf club. You’ll turn the PTA upside down…”

“Yes Jeff,” She said looking up at him with a face that shone like the sun. “We are going to be respectable.”

“Pity,” he said, smiling down at her. “Crazy was fun while it lasted.”


	3. Gimel (Camel)

Denver Zoo

“What’s that, daddy?” Jessica was seated in what was probably her favorite position in the world at the moment - on her father’s shoulders, him holding on to her ankles for safety, and towering over almost everybody around. It was mid morning, and Annie had already taken what felt like a hundred pictures.

Jeff looked in the direction the hand not holding an ice cream was pointing at.

“It’s a camel,” he said.

“Hello Mr Camel!” Jessica waved as the aforementioned beast seemed to realise he was being talked about and ambled towards them.

“Why does it look so funny daddy?”

“It was God’s first attempt at making a horse. As you can see, he needed the practice.”

“Jeeeefff…” Annie said in the amused but slightly threatening tone of voice she usually reserved for those occasions when it pleased him to joke with rather than educate their daughter.

He grinned at her. “ _ Your mommy  _ wants me to tell you it’s because it lives in the desert and those humps are where it stores food and water for when it needs them.”

“Like a picnic basket?”

“Yes darling, exactly like a picnic basket.”

“Can I have a picnic basket on my back when I grow up to carry my food in? Please, daddy?”

“I don’t see why not. Your mommy was always carrying stuff on her back when I first met her.”

“Like a camel?”

“Yes, darling, mommy looked exactly like a camel.”

“Jeff!” He grinned at Annie’s shocked gasp and instinctively tightened his abs to meet the incoming swat.

Jessica was silent for a moment as she looked at Annie, then the camel, then back at Annie. “But she’s pretty now, isn’t she?”

Jeff crossed one arm across both her legs to keep her in place and pulled Annie into his side with the other, fondly stroking her back as he did. “Yes darling, mommy is very pretty. In fact,” he dropped his voice into a fake whisper. “Mommy is the prettiest mommy  _ in the entire world. _ But we don’t tell her that do we?”

“You’re silly!” Jessica giggled. “Bye Mr Camel!” The aforementioned beast had clearly realised they weren’t talking about him any more and had started to amble off.

“What do camels eat, daddy?” It was at that point that, owing to a combination of heat and gravity, a large piece of partly melted ice cream slipped off it’s cone and landed on Jeff’s forehead and began dripping down his face.

“Naughty little girls!” He said, reaching up to lift her off his shoulders and mime throwing her into the enclosure before pulling her back to tickle her until she was screaming with laughter.

“Sometimes I wonder who the real five year old in this family is,” Annie said, an amused expression on her face as she took another picture, this one of Jeff with ice cream running down his face and Jessica pointing at it and laughing.


	4. Daleth (Door)

The wedding, to nobody’s surprise who knew them, was Greendale to the max. The wedding party was unorthodox, but again everyone who knew them thought it was fitting - Britta was Jeff’s best man, and Troy and Abed were Annie’s bridesmaids. She looked classically elegant in a mid-length black dress, they absolutely rocked pink tuxedos. After raising a token objection that it wasn’t a woman’s place it was Shirley, glowing with pride every step of the way, who walked Annie down the aisle. To round off the study group, the bride’s veil was held in place by the tiara Pierce had bequeathed her (“he would be so happy if he was here,” Annie had tearfully sobbed into Shirley's shoulder as the older woman helped her get ready).

After politely but firmly being told he would not be presiding over the ceremony, Craig Pelton had been consoled with the offer of the job of Master of Ceremonies for the wedding celebration, a job he performed with surprising skill and a minimum of innuendo, though with more than a hint of ‘Cabaret’ in his performance. 

For the wedding dance Annie (and Abed, who was filming it) had wanted to do a big movie set piece, but Jeff, who’s dance skills were mostly limited to an admittedly competent Argentine Tango, had put his foot down and flat-out vetoed ‘any of that Patrick Swayze crap’ -

“There’s no way I’m lifting you over my head in a wedding dress Annie!”

“But you bench-press three times my weight every day, Jeff!” 

“It’s not you that’s the problem, it’s the wedding dress! If that thing gets tangled around my face before I balance you, we’ll both come crashing to the ground and spend our wedding night in hospital! Do you want to spend our wedding night in hospital, Annie?”

“Stupidsexywingerwithsensiblearguments,” she’d mumbled.

They had compromised on the Tango from “Scent of a Woman” - Jeff had no problem with playing Al Pacino. At the last minute however, far too late for Jeff to do anything but grin and bear it, the best man switched out the music for Roxanne. Much to his gratification, he managed to adjust the steps on the fly to match the music and nobody noticed the switch.

At the end of the evening, Troy and Abed quietly disappeared as the Master of Ceremonies announced the bride and groom would be retiring. Jeff and Annie left the room to the raucous cheers of their guests and walked down the hallway at approximately the best pace Annie could manage in a massive dress and heels. Troy solemnly took the OUT OF ORDER sign off the door of the elevator he was guarding and punched in the number of their floor, wishing them luck with a huge smile on his face as the door closed.

When the lift reached their floor, Annie was surprised to see Abed about twenty yards ahead holding open the door of the Honeymoon Suite. Surprise quickly turned into delighted shock as Jeff swept her off her feet and settled her in his arms.

“I said I wouldn’t hoist you overhead, but there is no way I am not carrying my bride over the threshold on our wedding night,” he said with a huge grin on his face.

Annie’s face was glowing with happiness as he started walking, then jogging, down the corridor.

“Thanks Abed, see you tomorrow.” He rushed out as they passed their friend. 

“Good luck guys,” Abed said as he closed the door behind them, Jeff had already reached the bed and lowered Annie to it before it fully shut.

“Jeff!” Annie said, her face blushing bright red. “Everybody’s going to know what we’re doing!” She nodded frantically at the door that had just finished closing behind Abed.

“Annie,” he said. “It’s our wedding night and we’re in the Honeymoon Suite of a hotel filled with our friends and family. I think it’s safe to say that everybody here _already_ knows what we’ll be doing tonight!”

“Oh.” She said, then she smiled. “Then you’d better kiss me then, hadn’t you?”


	5. Hei (Behold)

It had started with a informal reunion. Troy and Abed had been in town to visit their fathers, and Shirley to hand over Ben to Andre for his spell of shared custody, Joshua and Elijah having long since grown up and left home - a thought which still gave her complicated feelings of pride and loneliness.

Jeff, Annie and Britta had taken the three of them to a restaurant to catch up and relive old memories when Annie suddenly cried out in pain.

“It’s okay,” she gasped as the pain receded. A few minutes later, it came again. Shirley, a suspicious expression on her face, shoved Jeff aside to get to Annie.

“These are contractions,” she said bluntly.

“It’s not like last time-” Annie tried to contradict her, only to gasp in pain as another bout hit.

“It doesn’t have to be,” Shirley said before turning back to Jeff. “You need to get your wife to hospital, boy.” She said to Jeff.

“But there’s still over three weeks-”

“No child, not even Annie Edison’s-” in the stress of the moment Shirley reverted to Greendale “-comes on anybody’s schedule but his own. Get going, Jeff!”

“Guys-” Annie gasped as Jeff fetched their coats. “Can you go and sit with Jessie? The babysitter knows Britta, it’ll be okay.”

The four of them looked at each other and nodded. “Sure Annie,” Britta said. “Don’t worry about anything except you and the baby.”

“Thanks guys,” Annie smiled shakily at them as Jeff helped her to her feet and started to carry her out of the restaurant.

XXXXXX

“Why the hell did I let you do this to me again??” Annie screamed. She was lying propped up in a bed in the Maternity wing of UC Denver Hospital, her legs splayed open and a midwife between them making soothing noises. (“Another big push Mrs Winger, that’s great…”)

Jeff winced in pain - he was holding Annie’s hand in his, but he was pretty sure her freshly manicured nails were drawing blood now - “It worked out fine last time...” 

She looked at him with an expression of disbelief on her face and screamed again.

“The baby’s crowning now Mrs Winger, not much-” the midwife was still being soothing.

“ _ GET THIS THING OUT OF ME!!!” _

XXXXXX

The pain and stress, or at least Annie’s awareness of it, ended almost as soon as she heard the first healthy cry of a newborn child announcing its presence in the world. The nursing team with practiced efficiency severed the umbilical cord, cleaned up the baby, weighed and measured it and wrapped it in a blanket and handed it back.

“Congratulations Mrs Winger, Mr Winger, you have a beautiful baby boy.” The midwife said softly as she laid the child in Annie’s arms. Jeff watched, a feeling of awe going through him, as Annie deftly unfastened one side of her maternity gown and attached the baby to a breast, cries subsiding as he started to feed. Jeff climbed onto the bed beside her and put an arm around her shoulder and gently pulled her into his side.

“You did this,” he said softly, unable to take his eyes off the - his - child.

“We did this,” she smiled at him and then returned her gaze to the baby. 

All of a sudden a memory flashed through Jeff’s head, of the time he’d killed a man. 

(“I could live a million years and I could spend every minute of it doing important things. But at the end of it all, I would have only lived half a life if I had not raised a son.” He had yelled at Cornelius Hawthorne.

“This was a gift that was handed to you. You squandered it!")

_ I know the damage a bad father can do to a man, _ he thought as he looked down on his son. _ I promise you that is not a lesson you will need to learn,  _ he vowed.

“Have you picked a name yet?” One of the nurses asked.

“Reuben,” Annie said, giving the name they’d settled on weeks earlier.

“Pierce,” Jeff said softly, only half listening as memories went through his head.

“I’m sorry?” The nurse looked confused. 

Annie looked at Jeff, an expression of surprise on her face that melted into a smile as their eyes met. She nodded.

“Reuben Pierce,” Annie said. “He’s got two names.”


	6. Vaw (Hook)

_ “Jessica Doreen Winger!!” _ Annie yelled at the top of her voice. “Come here at once!”

The noise of a bedroom door slamming was quickly followed by the sound of footsteps scurrying down a flight of stairs.

“Yes, mom?” Jessica had come to a halt, hands crossed in front of her, eyes seemingly doubled in size and on the verge of tears. Annie fought to keep an expression of exasperated fondness off her face.  _ That may work on your father, missy - but I was doing it before you were born... _

“Jessie, where do we hang our coats?”

“On a hook, mom.”

“And which one is yours?”

Jessica pointed to one about four feet off the ground with JDW written above it.

“So why,” Annie asked. “Is your coat on the floor?”

“Erm, Jason knocked it off?” She said hopefully.

“Your father has taken the dog and Reuben to the park.” Annie crossed her arms across her chest, almost curious to hear what line her oldest child would try next. _ There are times when she really is her father's daughter _ , Annie thought, a sense of bemused pride going through her.

“I was in a hurry to start my homework, and didn’t put it on right?”

“That might actually have worked if you hadn’t tried to blame the dog first, you know.” Annie said, slightly sharply.

“Sorry mom.”

Annie sighed. “Just hang it up - properly this time - and remember for next time, okay?”

This time she did allow herself to smile fondly as her daughter picked the coat up and hung it on her hook.

“Did you really have homework?” Annie was honestly curious. 

Jessica nodded. “I have to make a diorama of our house and yard for Miss Tyler’s class.”

“You should have asked me,” Annie sounded slightly sad. “I would have loved to help.”

“No mom.” Jessica said firmly. “The last time you helped I got told off by the teacher - she said it was obviously too good to be my own work and I must have got a grown up to do it.”

Annie actually smiled at that. 

“If I need help I’ll ask dad or auntie Britta - the teachers never catch on when they do it.”

_ Just how many people have you roped in to do your homework for you?  _ Annie had a sudden flashback to the very early days of the study group, when Jeff would shamelessly charm her into sharing her notes with him and how proud and excited she’d been that he had chosen  _ her  _ above everyone else to help him. As she’d grown she’d learned to see through him of course, but instead of driving them apart it had only brought them together, and she liked to think - no, she  _ knew -  _ that she’d brought out a moral backbone in him just as he’d taught her it was okay to go off-book occasionally. And, as she stood there looking at her beautiful, smart, wayward, carefree daughter she could feel the wheel coming round for another turn.  _ I guess Wingers will always be charming rogues,  _ she thought.  _ And Edisons will always fall for them and try to keep them in line. _

Annie stepped forward suddenly and gathered her daughter into a tight hug, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “Love you, Jessie.”

“Love you too, mom.” Jessica looked baffled but happy at the sudden moment of tenderness, but returned the hug in full.

“Now miss, don’t you have homework-” but Annie was interrupted by the sound of a key turning in the lock.

“What’s going on here?” Jeff asked cheerfully as he stepped through the door, Reuben in a baby carrier on his chest, a collie straining at the leash in his hand. Jeff dropped the leash to sweep Annie into a kiss as though he’d last seen her six months ago, not an hour before.

“Yew! Gross-” but Jessica’s cries of disgust were interrupted as fifty pounds of canine enthusiasm barrelled into her and proceeded to lick her face.

“You see how much that dog loves you?” Annie said, smiling softly. “And yet you were willing to sell him down the river in a heartbeat.” 

“Sorry Jason,” Jessica said, throwing her arms in a tight hug around the dog’s neck.

Jeff raised a questioning eyebrow.

“I’ll explain later,” Annie said as she helped him unfasten the toddler strapped to his chest.


	7. Zayin (Weapon)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should apologise in advance - this chapter is very different in tone to the rest of this series, and specifically is not in the least bit fluffy, but then given the subject matter it would have been difficult to make it so. Normal service will be resumed with the next chapter.

Annie bought her gun three months after moving into the studio above Dildopolis, after a narrow escape when she was convinced someone was following her back to her room - she slammed the door behind her barely ahead of the stalker, and collapsed trembling against it as a heavy weight smashed against the door before backing off.

Asking around her circle of sort-of friends from rehab found a girl who was moving back in with her parents who couldn’t take a gun with her, so she let Annie have it for a modest price. She took it home, cleaned it, checked and counted the ammunition her friend had provided - 37 rounds - and practiced drawing it from her purse as fast and cleanly as possible.

The next time she sensed a stalker follow her back to her room she turned on a heel, drawing the gun as she did and screamed at the top of her voice. The stalker - someone she thought looked like one of the drug addicts who hung around in the alley behind Dildopolis - fled in blind panic, almost falling down a flight of stairs as he ran. When she checked the gun afterwards, she was terrified to find she hadn't even loaded it, shortly afterwards she signed up for her first range safety course.

The next time she paid her rent, her landlord grinned at her and told her that the derelicts who hung out behind the store were telling stories of the crazy girl who packed heat and would kill anyone who so much as looked at her funny. “They’d better not look at me funny then,” was all she said. The smile was wiped off her landlord’s face.

Annie had been brought up in a nice family in a civilised neighbourhood, and had been taught - and believed - that there was no argument that could not be resolved with reason and compassion, and there was no place for guns in a good girl’s life. Dildopolis however was not a civilised place, and it was not in a civilised neighbourhood. Annie hated the sense of security she got from a pound and a quarter of wood and metal pressing against her hip, but it was a real feeling nevertheless. It wasn’t long before her range classes were as much a part of her self-defence regime as her karate classes.

One of the reasons she was so eager to accept the invitation to move into apartment 303 was because she wanted to live in a place where she did not need to permanently carry a gun to feel safe, where the sound of a knock on the door did not fill her with fear. Troy and Abed were friends - almost brothers - and if it seemed sometimes that they’d invited her to live with them in order to be a grown up so that they didn’t have to be, that was a role Annie was fine with. It was nice to be needed, after all.

There were limits though - one day she’d been checking her bedside table only to have a moment of near panic when she found the gun was missing. A desperate search failed to turn it up anywhere in her room, and when she found out the boys had “borrowed” it to recreate scenes from the Matrix in the Dreamatorium she was so angry that by the time she’d finished yelling at them (“This is not a toy! This is not a prop! This is a _thing_ that kills people!”) and calmed down Troy was crying and Abed was pale and shaking. 

When they were able to talk to each other again she extracted a promise from them to stop taking stuff out of her room without asking, but she still bought a lockbox for it, screwed it to the floor under her bed, and kept the key on her person at all times.

As time passed, she took it out less and less, though she still kept up with her range safety sessions. She even thought of getting rid of it altogether occasionally, but she’d take it out, have sudden flashbacks to shadows moving in the corridor outside her Dildopolis apartment, and put it back.

When she went to DC, there was a part of her that really wanted to take it with her but it was quite impossible for her to transport it by air so she left it in the box under the bed, though she kept the key with her, somewhat to Britta’s irritation as she’d never found out what was in the mysterious box. The ten weeks in DC were the longest she’d spent without her gun since buying it, and this time she was certain that she would get rid of it when she came back. But once again, she would open the box under her bed and take it out, feel the cold, reassuring weight in her hands, sigh to herself and put it back.

There was one time when she was woken up by loud banging on the apartment door and, her mind filled with flashbacks from Dildopolis and the idea that somebody had apparently decided that an apartment inhabited only by two young women was an easy touch, she dived under the bed to fetch the gun and felt herself calm down as the weight settled into her hand. 

It had been Britta, who had gone out to a party and come back so drunk she couldn’t remember where she’d put her door key. Annie had hidden the gun, given her friend a couple of aspirin and a pint of water, and put her in her own bed before securing the gun and retiring herself.

The next time the issue of what to do with the gun came up was when she moved out of apartment 303 for the last time after she graduated with a Forensics degree and moved in with Jeff. He’d taken a look at it, frowned with concern, but after thinking for a moment said that so long as it was stored safely he would trust that she knew what she was doing. Then he grinned, and said he’d thought of certain… scenarios in which a hot girl with a gun played a prominent role. Annie gave him a somewhat more measured version of the same talk she’d given Troy and Abed all those years ago, though after he apologised she relented slightly and bought a thigh holster that mounted a small paintball gun.

Things changed after she moved in with Jeff. Gradually, strange noises in the night no longer had her reaching for the key to the lockbox, the sound of people moving around outside the apartment no longer had her wondering if the door was locked. Slowly she realised she was in a place where she felt happy, and because she felt happy she felt safe, illogical though it was. The next key decision point came after they got married, found out she was pregnant and realised, after some calculations, they could just about afford to buy a house.

This time, she didn’t hesitate. Fears of the past were not going to stand in the way of hopes for the future. She took the lockbox out of the apartment, drove down to Greendale PD, and asked to see Officer Cachowski, who, after so many years, was almost a friend. She looked one last time at the gun, which in all the years she had owned she had drawn in anger twice but never discharged, and signed it over to the police for disposal. She thanked Cachowski for his time, turned around and never looked back.


	8. Cheth (Chamber)

The first day in a new job is always nervous. For Jeff, it was especially so as this one had happened almost by accident. He’d been joking with his colleagues at the firm about going in a new direction before retiring, and someone had challenged him to apply for this. 

"Think of this way dad," Jessica had said when he broached the subject with his family. "This way you get to be the one guy in the room everybody absolutely has to listen to."

"Because we all know I’m not that guy here," he'd grinned back at her.

He’d submitted the papers, fully expecting to be rejected at the first hurdle because of the suspension which, although over twenty five years old now, was still on his record. He hadn’t been. The appointments committee had questioned him about it - hard - but in the end they’d been more interested in the years since, when he’d polished a respectable academic career, eased back into private practice courtesy of Mark being willing to hold open a job offer and settled down with a family.

It had gotten serious when the committee had told him they were forwarding his name to the Governor’s office for final review, and then he’d got a letter with that worthy’s signature on it. It’d taken some time to sort his affairs out and familiarise himself with the new job, but he was finally here. There was only one other person in the room with him.

“How do I look?” He asked Annie. She was older now, her figure that of a woman who had given birth to, loved and brought up two fine children, laughter lines around her eyes, and a smile that was more than worldly wise. To him, she was still every bit as beautiful as she was the first day he truly  _ saw  _ her, when she let down her hair and smiled to win a Community College debate.

“You look shockingly handsome of course, as you know perfectly well.” she said, smiling swiftly as she reached to adjust his tie - black, like his robe, and licked the end of her thumb - a gesture still capable of arousing the most improper thoughts in Jeff, the light in her eyes showing she was well aware of this - and slicked back the hairs at his temple - grey now, almost white in fact, lending what he liked to imagine was a note of distinguished authority to his features. 

There was a knock on the door. Annie reached up and kissed him softly on the lips, then in a no-nonsense touch wiped an almost invisible smudge of lipstick off them. “Go,” she said. “And claim your kingdom.”

Jeff grinned and walked out the door. It was only ten feet from his office to the next door, which was being held open for him. “All rise,” The official called as Jeff walked through.

As he walked out, he scanned the audience. Jessie and Reuben were both there, Jessie gave him a quick wave which he smiled softly at, but otherwise had to ignore. He took his seat. The Clerk of the Court addressed the room. “The District Court of Riverside County is now in Session, the Honourable Judge Jeffrey T Winger presiding.”

The audience sat down. Jeff looked down at the order pad in front of him and was briefly tempted to use the hammer, but the sight of Annie just entering the courtroom from the back made him decide to be sensible. He met her eyes.  _ You are the entire and whole and complete reason I am able to do this, _ he thought.  _ The only reason I have been able to live this life was because you made me want to be someone who was worthy of you. This is your day, far more than it is mine. _ He waited until she was seated with their children before signalling the clerk of the court to announce the first case.


	9. Teth (Snake)

Jeff had brought up the subject of getting a dog again as Jessica approached her first birthday, and Annie had agreed to the extent of at least going to view some puppies. She would say fondly afterwards it had been a mistake to take Jessica with them when they went to view the collies - there was one tiny puppy in particular who seemed to know instinctively who needed to be impressed as he tottered over to Jessica on still unsteady feet, his tail wagging so fast he threatened to take off, and climbed into the baby’s lap and proceeded to lick her all over her face.

She threw her chubby little arms around the dog's neck and absolutely refused to let go, dissolving into a fit of tears when Annie peeled her off to go home. 

“Well, I think that’s settled.” Jeff said as he grinned at Annie. She rolled her eyes at him, but didn’t argue.

XXXXXX

They collected the puppy a couple of weeks later. Naming it had been a non-issue - “we’ve been calling him Jason,” the breeder had said. “But he’s young enough that he’ll adapt to whatever you choose.” Nobody had any objections to the name, so Jason he stayed.

He was supposed to be a family dog, and indeed he was eager to go on walks with Jeff and listened patiently as Annie taught him basic commands, but it was always Jessica’s bed he curled up at the foot of every night. It was her he went to first when he wanted somebody to throw him a ball, and, when she graduated past baby food, it was her who could most often be relied on to sneak food to him under the dinner table.

XXXXXX

With the best will in the world, going on holiday with a dog limited options. Going on holiday during the Plague Year limited them even further, but Annie put her research superpowers to bear and found a small but well-appointed log cabin overlooking a tiny lake up in the Rockies, a ten minute drive from the nearest town of any size. It had a fenced garden with a picnic table and a barbecue area where a toddler and a dog could get up to reasonably safe mischief and where they played for an hour on arrival under Jeff’s benevolent supervision while Annie diligently wiped down every interior surface with bleach. Jeff thought she was overdoing it, but knew her far too well to argue.

Even for the most careful of parents however mistakes happen, and ninety-nine times out of a hundred nothing comes of them, other than perhaps a teaching moment. On the hundredth however, you get something like this.

XXXXXX

Jeff, Annie, Jessica and Jason had spent the afternoon of their last full day at the cabin doing a circular walk around the lake. On returning, Jeff had started to comb the detritus of the walk out of Jason’s hair while Annie readied the barbecue for dinner. Jessica was playing quietly on the grass with one of her favorite toys, both her parents had slightly lost track of her, each assuming the other was keeping an eye on her when she suddenly screamed. 

Annie’s head whipped round in shock at the sound, and latched on to the sight of Jessica, almost twenty feet away, pointing at something in the grass. Even from this distance, the deadly _rrrrrt-rrrrt-_ sound made it all too clear what had frightened the child.

“Jessie honey, you need to be very still and quiet,” Annie called out as she got up and moved as fast as she dared. “HEY! HERE! HEY!” She yelled as she desperately tried to attract the rattlesnake’s attention. It didn’t work, Jessica was too close and wouldn’t stop screaming - Annie broke into a desperate run as the rattlesnake reared up, it’s fangs bared.

Jeff had heard their daughter scream as soon as Annie of course, but he was even further away and in a bad position to see and didn’t immediately register what had happened. 

“Whaa--” was all he managed to say as Jason ripped himself free from Jeff’s grip and tore across the lawn, far faster than any of his humans could manage. Jeff shook off his shock as soon as he heard Annie start yelling and took off after the dog. 

Annie was barely halfway to Jessica when Jason flew past her and collided with the snake, rolling several feet across the grass in a snarling ball. By the time Annie reached her daughter and started frantically checking her for bite marks, the dog was already on his feet, snarling furiously as he shook something in his jaws.

“Is she-” Jeff gasped as he caught up.

“I - I think so,” Annie gasped as she finished checking the toddler and started again with a slower, more careful search.

“Oh god -” Jeff sank to his knees and wrapped his family in his arms. Jason, calm now, walked up to the huddle and dropped something on the ground. Jeff looked down and saw the head and about six inches of the neck of a rattlesnake - the dog had clearly bit clean through it and sent the body flying. Jeff cautiously kicked it out of the way and turned back, only to see Jessica had stopped crying and started giggling as Jason licked her face.

“Do we still have that prime steak?” Jeff asked Annie.

She looked up at him in surprise. “That was supposed to be your treat.” She said.

“Forget treats,” Jeff said. “We owe that dog a life, the least we can do is give him a steak.”


End file.
